What is MAICON?
MAICON, the Marketing AI Conference, is an annual event in Cleveland for marketers who use or plan to use AI. The organizer says it is “designed for marketing leaders and practitioners, not engineers or data scientists.” The 2027 edition runs October 4 to 7 at the Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland. It is run by Marketing AI Institute and SmarterX.
For a B2B marketer, that audience is the point. Broad AI events such as Ai4 cover AI across industries and functions. MAICON’s sessions are about running a marketing team with AI: content, search, adoption and change management. MAICON 2026 ran October 13 to 15, 2026, and its recordings are on sale now.
Key details for 2027
| Detail | MAICON 2027 |
|---|---|
| Dates | October 4 to 7, 2027 |
| Main Conference | October 5 to 7: opening night party, then two full days of keynotes, breakouts, meals and a networking happy hour |
| AI for CMOs Experience | October 4 to 7: everything in the Main Conference plus the half-day AI for CMOs Summit |
| Venue | Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland, 300 Lakeside Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44113 |
| Attached hotel | Hilton Cleveland Downtown |
| Agenda and speakers | To be announced in spring 2027, per the organizer |
| Organizer | Marketing AI Institute and SmarterX (SmarterX Ventures, LLC) |
Sources: the MAICON event page and its FAQ, read on October 25, 2026, with dates and prices re-checked on November 5, 2026.
How much does MAICON 2027 cost?
Prices as listed on the organizer’s registration page on November 5, 2026:
| Pass | Early rate (through November 30, 2026) | Full price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main Conference | $1,299 | $2,299 | Opening night party, two days of keynotes and breakouts, meals, networking happy hour |
| AI for CMOs Experience | $2,299 | $3,299 | Main Conference plus the AI for CMOs Summit, an opening reception, lounge access, priority seating and a private executive lunch. For CMOs, VPs of Marketing and senior marketing leaders, by approval |
| Tuesday Workshop | +$500 | +$500 | Add-on to either pass |
| On-demand recordings | +$400 | +$400 | 12 months of access to select session recordings |
The early rate runs through November 30, 2026. After that the full price applies, and on-site registration costs $100 more ($2,399 and $3,399), so check the current price when you book. Groups of four to nine get 10% off at checkout, and groups of ten or more can ask for a custom discount. A limited number of discounted passes go to nonprofits and educational institutions, one per organization, and not for the AI for CMOs Experience.
The organizer’s trip-cost worksheet budgets the hotel at $275 a night and says room blocks close in mid-September 2027.
What is the refund and transfer policy?
From the FAQ:
- Through July 31, 2027: a 50% refund, or a 100% transfer to another SmarterX program.
- August 1 to October 3, 2027: no refunds. You can send someone in your place or move the fee to another SmarterX program.
- Substitutions are free at any time. Rollovers to a later MAICON are not allowed, and any balance not reallocated by October 3, 2027 is forfeited.
Who attends MAICON?
From the organizer’s sponsor and trip-justification pages:
| Measure | Organizer’s figure |
|---|---|
| Attendance in 2026 | 2,000, up from “the 300s” in its early years |
| Director level and above | 58% |
| Senior leaders and executives | 33% |
| Intermediate or advanced understanding of AI | 72% |
| Countries | 20+ |
These are the organizer’s figures, published to sell passes and sponsorships. The mix they describe is a senior marketing audience that already uses AI, rather than beginners or technical teams.
What did MAICON 2026 cover?
Speakers at the 2026 edition included Andrew Yang, Karen Hao, Kevin Roose, Wil Reynolds, Holly Chen, Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput, according to the event page. Attendee recaps give a sense of the content. Kuno Creative’s recap grouped its notes into human judgment, agentic content workflows, original research for PR, search in AI answers, and adoption inside marketing teams. Ngage’s notes focused on answer engine optimization and buyer personas, and quoted a speaker citing a Forrester survey in which 94% of B2B buyers used AI in recent buying research.
The organizer says the 2027 agenda will be announced in spring 2027. Expect the same split the organizer describes: applied AI tracks for practitioners and strategic AI for leaders.
Should B2B SaaS marketers go to MAICON?
- Go if you lead a marketing team that is rolling out AI. Sessions on adoption, training and workflow design are the core of the event, and the attendees are your peers.
- Go to the AI for CMOs Experience if you own the AI plan. The extra $1,000 (the gap at both the early rate and full price) buys the half-day summit and a room of senior marketing leaders.
- Choose Ai4 instead if you sell AI to enterprises. Ai4 in Las Vegas brings enterprise AI buyers who agree to vendor meetings. MAICON is built for marketers learning to run their work with AI.
- Skip it if you want a technical conference. The organizer says it is not built for engineers or data scientists.
Before you book, read our guide to AI marketing agents for what AI can already run for a B2B team, so you arrive with specific questions. Our events list covers the other marketing and SaaS conferences.
How to get a return on MAICON
- Check the price tier the day you book. The early rate, which runs through November 30, 2026, is $1,000 below the full Main Conference price, and teams of four or more get 10% off.
- Bring one process. Pick the marketing job you want AI to run next quarter, such as content briefs or account research, and choose sessions around it when the agenda comes out in spring 2027.
- Book the hotel by summer. Room blocks close in mid-September 2027.
- Send two people. One for strategy sessions, one for the applied tracks, then compare notes on day two.
- Write the plan on the way home. Name the process, its owner and the date it starts, and share it with your team that week.
If you exhibit or sponsor, our events service prepares booth graphics and one-pagers in your brand, invites the accounts you want to meet, and writes a follow-up for every badge scan that lands in your CRM. For the AI side of your marketing after the event, see how we build AI marketing systems.
- Marketing leaders building an AI plan
- Marketing teams rolling out AI tools
- CMOs and VPs of Marketing
- Agencies and consultants in AI marketing
Frequently asked
When and where is MAICON 2027?
October 4 to 7, 2027, at the Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland, 300 Lakeside Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44113. The main conference runs October 5 to 7, with an opening night party and two full days of keynotes and breakouts. The AI for CMOs Experience starts a day earlier, on October 4.
How much does a MAICON ticket cost?
On November 5, 2026, the organizer listed the Main Conference pass at an early rate of $1,299 through November 30, 2026, against a full price of $2,299 ($2,399 on site). The AI for CMOs Experience was $2,299 early and $3,299 full price ($3,399 on site). A Tuesday workshop adds $500 and on-demand recordings add $400. Groups of four or more get 10% off.
When was MAICON 2026?
MAICON 2026 took place October 13 to 15, 2026, in Cleveland, Ohio, according to the organizer. Its speakers included Andrew Yang, Karen Hao, Kevin Roose, Wil Reynolds and Paul Roetzer. Main stage and featured sessions from 2026 are sold as an on-demand bundle.
What is the MAICON refund policy?
For 2027, the organizer offers a 50% refund, or a 100% transfer to another SmarterX program, for cancellations through July 31, 2027. From August 1 to October 3, 2027 there are no refunds, but you can send someone in your place or move the fee to another SmarterX program. Substitutions are free. Ticket rollovers to a later MAICON are not allowed.
Is there a virtual option for MAICON?
Not a live one that the organizer lists. You can add on-demand recordings to either pass for $400, which gives 12 months of access to select session recordings in AI Academy after the event.
Who organizes MAICON?
Marketing AI Institute and SmarterX, under SmarterX Ventures, LLC. The conference is designed for marketing leaders and practitioners, not engineers or data scientists, according to the organizer.
